Biography

McCrory was raised in Guilford County. After earning degree in education and political science from Catawba College, he moved to Charlotte to work for Duke Energy.

He won election to an at-large seat on the Charlotte City Council, winning re-election two times and serving as Mayor Pro Tem. In 1995, he was elected Mayor of Charlotte, eventually serving seven terms.

In 2010, McCrory began work as the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Charlotte-based law firm of Moore & Van Allen. He is also currently a partner with McCrory & Company, a management consulting firm.

Education

Lucy Ragsdale High

BS, Education and political science, Catawba College

Political career

Governor of North Carolina (2013-Present)

McCrory first won election as governor in 2012. He was sworn in on January 5, 2013.[2]

Cabinet salaries

Republican state legislators changed state law to allow the governor to set cabinet member salaries. As of January 2013, McCrory's 8-member cabinet made over $1 million - an increase of $78,000 over the previous year.

McCrory increased four cabinet secretaries - Health and Human Services, Public Safety, Transportation and Corrections - from $121,807 to $135,000. The other four - Energy and Natural Resources, Revenue, Administration and Cultural Resources - went from $121,807 to $128,000.

Explaining the raises, McCrory said, "I'm trying to make it at least where they can afford to live while running multi-billion departments."[3]

Tax reform

McCrory has made tax reform, namely a reduction in the state's income tax, a priority for 2013. McCrory said that states with low or no income tax have done better economically that those with high rates.[4] McCrory has said he wants to examine eliminating the state income tax. The John W. Pope Civitas Institute analyzed a soon-to-be-introduced bill that would eliminate the state income, corporate, and franchise taxes and replace the lost revenue by increasing the state sales tax and expanding the sales tax to cover services and other exempted products. The Institute estimated that such a policy would have brought the state an additional 217,000 to 378,000 more jobs had it been in place over the past 10 years.[5]

Issue positions

Taxes:

In 2008, McCrory signed a no-tax pledge by Americans for Tax Reform, stating he would "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes." In August 2012, his campaign confirmed that would continue to stand by that pledge.[7]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for McCrory is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, McCrory raised a total of $18,847,704 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 20, 2013.[10]

Pat McCrory's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2012

Governor of North Carolina

$12,202,756

2008

Governor of North Carolina

$6,644,948

Grand Total Raised

$18,847,704

2012

McCrory won election to the position of Governor of North Carolina in 2012. During that election cycle, McCrory raised a total of $12,202,756.